Detective wraps up investigation of Scott Road crash

Stacy Langley

Published
8:00 pm EDT, Monday, June 21, 2004

Koehler, a veteran detective, has seen his share of accidents - from minor fender benders to multiple fatalities in his 23-plus years with the department. But he can't recall anything coming close to the complexity of the Scott Road crash that killed the three young men and injured four others April 24.

Huron County Prosecutor Mark J. Gaertner is not releasing the name - or many other details - at this time about the adult he says supplied alcohol to the young passengers involved in the crash that night. Gaertner said the charge stems from events that took place earlier that day and night leading up to the crash. The alcohol furnished to the minors, however, had nothing to do with the eventual crash that killed drivers James "Jimmy" Morell, 16, of Bad Axe, and Drew Lee DeLong, 23, of Kingston.

Also killed in the crash was a passenger in the DeLong vehicle, Michael Shane Wark, of Cass City, who was celebrating his 19th birthday that night.

"There were so many dynamics to this," Koehler said. "The accident was in the middle of the night, with two similar sized vehicles, both GMC full-sized pickup trucks. It happened on a gravel road, there was speed, a crest of a hill, alcohol use, improper driving, fire, injury, and people pinned in their vehicles. The only thing worse that could have happened is more people could have been killed.

"I've worked on several multiple fatality accidents, but this one stands out so much in my mind because it has all the factors for disaster."

Following the April 24 crash Koehler said there were plenty of questions about the accident, like how did the two vehicles and their passengers end up in a deadly accident on Scott Road in Verona Township in the first place. And that's where Koehler's leg work began.

"We knew certain elements about the crash, but what we needed was to know all the elements," Gaertner said. "What had to be done (by Koehler) is back-tracking, and that's what really took so long. We had to find out where everyone came from prior to the accident to see if there was any criminal activity that took place that night that may have resulted in the crash."

Gaertner said while the community is saddened by the effects of this horrific accident, he hopes the investigation will provide answers that will help prevent such a tragedy from happening again.

According to Koehler, DeLong was northbound on Scott Road near M-142 in Verona Township shortly before 11 p.m. April 24 when his pickup truck neared the hill top on the gravel road. DeLong's vehicle was traveling left of the center lane on the dirt road when it collided head-on with the oncoming southbound pickup truck driven by Morell. The head-on crash killed DeLong, Wark and Morell on impact before both pickup trucks caught fire.

It seems that for Koehler, the actual investigation of the crash scene wasn't as labor intensive as getting all of the information about what brought each vehicle to the gravel road that night. He said through speaking with everyone involved, he knows that Morell and his passengers, Tyler Rambo, Jenni Guigar and Joe Stager, met up in Bad Axe earlier in the day. They all climbed in, with Morell behind the wheel, stopping by a house party, and then they went riding around before heading out to Scott Road.

"There was some confusion between Morell and Stager as to which road in Verona Township is roller coaster road, that's why they ended up over there on Scott Road," Koehler said. "While on roller coaster road, they were going to go hill-topping, but before that Stager reminded Morell to take off the smoked headlight covers on the pickup truck (which diminishes the headlights), so they could see a long distance ahead of where they were going. They took them off and headed down Scott Road. Somewhere between the stop and the crash they were all looking for their seat belts.

"Rambo was sitting in the front, he just got his seat belt snapped shut. The two in the back, Guigar and Stager, were literally looking for their seat belts when the crash occurred, they hadn't buckled them up yet. When the Morell vehicle crested the hill heading south on Scott Road, they all told me they saw the oncoming headlights and Morell made a quick turn to the right."

Koehler said Morell was traveling about 60-70 mph on the dirt road as he approached the hill and impact occurred.

"At impact he was in the southbound lane which would have been his lane," Koehler said.

After the crash three accident reconstructionists, including Koehler, spent hours measuring and examining the scene. Their results were consistent with the information that Koehler received from the passengers who survived the crash. The reconstructionists also determined that both vehicles were traveling at similar speeds upon impact due to a number of elements they discovered, including how both vehicles came to rest still head-on after the violent collision, indicative of a head-on crash with two similar size vehicles traveling at similar speeds.

Koehler went on to say that DeLong and his passengers, which included his girlfriend, Alecia Nicol, of Kingston, and a friend, Wark, had just left a party near Ubly and were on Scott Road following friends to go spear fishing near Verona Road.

Koehler said DeLong had just taken over driving moments before the crash occurred.

"Nicol was accustomed to driving since DeLong had some problems with his driver's license. She automatically grabbed the keys and jumped into his (DeLong's) truck and started driving that day," Koehler said. "Just before 11 p.m. that night they left the Ubly party, following a friend, Dustin "Buck" Tice, to go fishing. Apparently Nicol wasn't driving fast enough and wasn't keeping up with Buck. By the time they reached Scott Road they lost Buck and couldn't find where he went. The boys (DeLong and Wark) were arguing with Nicol to 'go faster, go faster, you're loosing him'. At some point on Scott Road Nicol gets mad and says 'I'm not driving anymore,' she gets out and walks around the front. DeLong gets out and gets in the driver's seat just moments before the crash."

Gaertner said through Koehler's investigation he was able to determine just how the change in drivers took place and where everyone involved was seated prior to the crash.

"Early on there were statements made to ambulance personnel that left some confusion about a possible driver switch. That was cleared up. We needed to know what took place that night - this office is duty bound to find out if someone allowed an intoxicated person to drive resulting in the crash," he said. "We found out that wasn't the case here. The driver switch was a split second decision made because she (Nicol) was being pressed into giving up the keys because she wasn't driving fast enough. She's not expected to fight tooth and nail to keep the intoxicated person from driving, that's not intent for that law. She's not going to be charged. You have to intentionally allow an intoxicated person to drive."

DeLong's blood alcohol level that night was .14, nearly twice the legal limit for driving while intoxicated. Also at the time of the accident DeLong was driving on a restricted license stemming from a drunken driving conviction in Tuscola County back in August, which he had pled guilty to on Sept. 2.

"Morell who was 16 years old when the crash occurred, didn't have a criminal history or any driving history that we can pin-point. If anything, he was driving fast that night," Gaertner said. "On the night of the accident DeLong was driving on a restricted license, and when he took the wheel he was completely outside the parameters of his restricted license. He had a prior drunken driving offense in Tuscola County and restricted license, he had no business taking the wheel."

Gaertner reports that Morell did not consume alcohol the night of the accident, his blood alcohol level was .00. Koehler said Nicol, who was driving earlier that night, wasn't drinking alcohol either.

"We all hope this has sent a message to people. We were all teenagers once, and as teenagers we like to go do thrilling things, but this is just a recipe for disaster," Gaertner said. "All of this didn't have to happen this way, if the alcohol consumed by DeLong could have been taken out of this situation that night, there probably wouldn't have been the argument that led to the driver switch. If Morell hadn't went out there to go hill topping, so much could have been different. We don't want these young people to have died in vain."

While Koehler's investigation into the accident is complete, he said one of the things that sticks in his minds is how Stager and Rambo were responsible for saving two lives that night. First they pulled Guigar out to safety, then they broke through a window of DeLong's vehicle to pull Nicol to safety.

"They don't want to be called heroes, but they really are," Koehler said.